US military strikes two facilities in Syria, Defense secretary says

The U.S. executed strikes against two facilities located in Syria, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement, noting that the targeted faciliites were utilized by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and related entities.

Austin described America's move as a matter of self-defense.

"Today, at President Biden's direction, U.S. military forces conducted self-defense strikes on two facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated groups," Austin said in the statement. "These precision self-defense strikes are a response to a series of ongoing and mostly unsuccessful attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militia groups that began on October 17. As a result of these attacks, one U.S. citizen contractor died from a cardiac incident while sheltering in place; 21 U.S. personnel suffered from minor injuries, but all have since returned to duty."

"If attacks by Iran's proxies against U.S. forces continue, we will not hesitate to take further necessary measures to protect our people," he declared.

Austin also said that the U.S. strikes were not connected to the war between Israel and Hamas.

"These narrowly tailored strikes in self-defense were intended solely to protect and defend U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria. They are separate and distinct from the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, and do not constitute a shift in our approach to the Israel-Hamas conflict," he said in the statement.

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